Gift of a Deadly Liaison
by Amitaru
Summary: This fanfiction is the elaboration of a strange dream I had. This is my very first fanfiction so I hope you enjoy! Please R and R! Rated for language and sexual scenes.
1. New Courage

**Disclaimers: **I do not own any of the Resident Evil characters included here nor do I own the first journal entry which was featured in Resident Evil: Nemesis. Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, Albert Wesker, Barry Burton, the September 28th journal entry, the Umbrella Corporation and the T-Virus are all characters and concepts owned by Capcom.

September 28th. Daylight. The monsters have overtaken the city. Somehow…I'm still alive…

'Perhaps that's too harsh…' thought Terry Walker, staring at her most recent journal entry. The newcomers to the lab threatened to take Terry's job but to no avail. Their intensely competitive nature caused her to regard them as ruthless monsters. Yet, with her easygoing character, she managed to survive and keep her job at the research facility, because her dream, after all, was to find a cure to diabetes, and she was absolutely unwilling to let anyone get in the way of her goal. On reflecting on her experiences in her various internships at various research facilities, Terry felt that the Umbrella Corporation was one of the very few places where her dream could be realized.

'Enough,' thought Terry. She did not want to ruin her day with thoughts of her cutthroat coworkers. Her heart fluttered slightly as she remembered her plans for the day. Today was the day she would see Allan again. She envisioned him and could not help but smile. Allan Finley was a handsome and tall blonde man in his late thirties whose self-assuredness was the quality which immediately attracted Terry to him.

Sure, she was always attracted to older men, but she never had the courage to date one. Yet, today was the day she decided to spend the night with him.

Terry glanced at the clock on her bedroom wall and was delighted to see that it was time to get ready for her date. After a refreshing shower, she quickly got dressed and left her apartment.

As she turned on her car and began to hear the fourth song of her favorite Trance CD, Terry's heart fluttered once again. She always felt giddy when she was on her way to meeting him. But the feeling was especially intense on this occasion because of her decision to take the next step in their relationship.

Terry had pondered this for weeks, finally choosing to give in to her desires this night. She was a bit nervous because she knew that she had little experience in seduction. Nevertheless, her mind was made up. 'Tonight will be the night,' she thought as she pulled up into the parking lot of their usual meeting place. After shutting off her car, Terry took a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm her nerves and her racing heart. It was time to meet the man with whom she wanted to make her sexual fantasy a reality.

The young dark-skinned brunette entered the establishment and was greeted by the usual smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke. The bar was not a place where Terry typically liked to socialize but eventually came to appreciate its significance. It was in this place that she and Al had met for the past two months to go on their various endeavors. It was necessary for their meeting point to be far from the research facility where Terry worked because Al was also employed there. The usual rules prohibiting fraternization did not deter the almost immediate attraction between Al and Terry, who first met during a seminar at the facility. Since their initial meeting, they had gotten to know each other while on trips to various nightclubs, arcades and movie theaters.

As Terry made her way through the bar, she quickly realized that Al was not there yet. The young woman was not worried, as she was aware that Al usually liked to make a grand entrance. This time was no different. After she had settled in and ordered her usual Coke, two hands swiftly wrapped around her waist and a deep masculine voice greeted her with the words, "Hey, sexy."

"Hey, yourself," replied the young woman. Terry was never one to come up with sly remarks, so she didn't bother to try.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Al. "Let's do it," answered Terry. They had already decided beforehand that they would venture to the movie theater to see their favorite type of film, a gory action flick with no coherent storyline. This allowed Terry the opportunity to come up with the best possible way of inviting Al to spend the night with her.

More than halfway into the movie, Terry was surprised to find Al's arm around her shoulders. Aside from their greetings and their goodbyes, Al and Terry did not overtly express their affection for each other. They never found much use in public displays of affection. Nevertheless, this did not prevent them from knowing how strong their feelings were.

Terry gently placed her head on Al's shoulder and her heart began to race once again. The protagonist of the film made his grand entrance into the enemy's lair which signaled that the end of the movie was near and Terry still had no plan. She began to doubt that Al would want to spend the night with her. Terry was sure that he had more experience than she did and worried that she would turn out to be a disappointment.

As they made their way to the parking lot of the movie theater, Terry decided to act on impulse. "Allan?" Terry asked somewhat timidly. "What's up?" asked the tall blonde man. His intense gaze melted away any confidence Terry managed to muster. "Um, I was wondering…I'm having some trouble with this report I have to submit next week…could you come over and check it out?" 'Oh God, why did I lie?' thought Terry. Indeed, she had to hand in a report to her superiors, but she had already proofread and finished it with no doubt concerning its adequacy. "Sure, I'd love to," replied Al. He was somewhat curious about Terry's request but was also eager to see her home.

On the way to her apartment, Terry nervously pondered her courses of action once she would reach her home. 'Should I tell him that I lied about the report or should I show it to him anyway?…What would he think about me lying to get him to come over?…Will he leave once he finds out?' These were some of the myriad of thoughts racing through the young woman's mind.

Once they had reached her apartment, Terry decided to stall to come up with a strategy. "Why don't I give you the grand tour of the place first?" she suggested. After taking his jacket, Terry showed Al around her home, hesitating briefly before showing him the bedroom.

Once the tour was over, Al remarked with a smile, "You have a beautiful home." 'Oh God, you're going to make me do all the work,' thought Terry as they walked back towards the living room. "Thank you," replied Terry. How she longed for Al to take her in his arms without a word into her bedroom and give her the night of her life.

Her heart sank because she knew that Al was very much work-oriented and was primarily focused on helping her with her report more than anything else. She decided to tell him the truth and hope for the best. "Look, Al…I'm sorry, but I lied to you about the report. I didn't want you to come to review a report that I made. I wanted to come because…I…want to be with you…tonight." 'There it is,' thought the young woman, 'I said it.'

Al smiled. Her shy honesty was one of the qualities which had endeared her to Al. "Darling, you didn't have to make up that story. To be perfectly honest, I've wanted this for some time now, but I was also afraid to ask." The blonde man looked away from her and laughed quietly to himself. "It's been a while since I've been this nervous," he stated softly. He turned towards his young lover and pulled her close to him; her heart raced once again. "And it's been a while since I've felt this way." Then he moved slowly towards her until their lips were united in a passionate kiss. Always in favor of multitasking, the two successfully managed to migrate to the bedroom and take off the majority of their clothing while still locked in a loving embrace. Before long, Terry was laying on her bed in her underwear while Al lay on top of her in only his boxers which did a poor job of camouflaging his aroused state. Terry was also impressed by the definition of his chest. Al surprised and delighted Terry with his aggression in removing her bra and her panties. "My God, you're beautiful," whispered the blonde man, thoroughly amazed by the raw beauty of his naked lover. Al then proceeded to commence a trail of kisses which began at Terry's neck; the young woman responded by releasing soft moans of pleasure. The blonde man stopped just above her entrance, causing Terry to look at her lover with a curious expression. Al responded with a seductive smile and began to taste what she wanted him to savor. Terry gasped as she realized firsthand that Al knew how to please her. It did not take long for the two lovers to become consumed by the desperate need to be united. Thus, Al, no longer capable of withstanding the separation between himself and Terry, immediately climbed on top of his young lover and entered her. Sheer ecstasy enveloped them both as they experienced the greatest pleasure they had ever known. The air was filled with the sounds of Al's heavy breathing, Terry's gasps and her screams as they moved, touched, caressed, kissed, and learned the mysteries of each other, finally climaxing in a volcanic burst of pleasure which left them both greatly satisfied and in a state of awe.

Once the two lovers began to recover from what they had just experienced, both silently decided not to ruin the moment attempting to come up with words to say to the other. The two lovers were at a loss for words. Thus, Al kissed Terry's lips once more and held her in his arms until they were both fast asleep.


	2. New Pain, New Beginnings

The next morning, Terry couldn't wait to thank Al for the beautiful night they spent together. She was also eager to ask for a repeat performance. However, she awoke only to find that she was alone in her bed. 'He's probably making breakfast,' thought Terry. After putting on a robe, Terry made her way to the kitchen. It was exactly the same as she left it the day before: everything was in its place and no one was there. Terry quickly moved to the window and noticed that Al's car was no longer parked where it was the previous night. 'Where did he go?' thought Terry with some worry. She then decided to call him on his cell phone, only to be greeted by his voicemail which indicated that his phone was turned off. "What the hell's going on?" muttered Terry softly to herself. She vainly attempted to remain calm as she left a message on his phone: "Hey Al, it's Terry…Um, I just wanted to talk…just call me back when you get the chance…bye."

'Perhaps I'm just overreacting. Maybe he left a note somewhere. Maybe he had to tend to an emergency.' Terry engaged in a thorough search of her apartment. After finding nothing of use on top of tables and desks, she desperately looked underneath couches and other unlikely places to leave a note. Allan was gone, but she refused to give up hope. 'He will probably call me soon.'

'Soon' became all day without a call and without any of Terry's questions answered. She avoided the obvious and attempted to go about her routine. 'I should get ready for work.' Then her hope resurfaced. 'Surely he should show up at the facility tomorrow.'

Terry quickly packed her work bag and was grateful that it was already time to go to bed. Hopefully, sleep would prevent her imagination from running wild. 'Tomorrow I will figure everything out. It's probably no big deal.'

Monday morning. Terry was barely able to concentrate on the specimens at her lab station. Before she arrived at the facility, she decided to wait until her lunch break to make her way towards Al's office. Even with all of her anxiety, she managed to remember the importance of keeping their relationship a secret at the facility.

After what seemed like an eternity, the time had finally come for Terry to take her lunch break. The butterflies started flying in her stomach as she got closer to his work station. She was unsure of what she would say when she saw him; she just cared about seeing him at this point.

Her heart sank as she approached the station. Terry only saw two female scientists tending to a small group of experimental mice. She approached the two workers. "Excuse me; do you know if Allan Finley is here today?" "Allan Finley?" responded one of the scientists. "I believe he accepted a job at another branch out west about two weeks ago. Friday was his last day here." "Oh, thanks," replied Terry, attempting to hide her disappointment, confusion, anger and heartbreak.

The rest of the day passed surprisingly quickly for Terry. She was thankful that nothing occurred out of the routine. The young woman did not feel like engaging in meaningless conversation about ordering new specimens or lab maintenance. She just wanted to go home and check her answering machine. Sure, she had a cell phone, but that did not stop her from believing that Allan had left fifty-one messages on her phone at home. Terry imagined that she would open the door to her apartment to be greeted by thousands of bouquets of flowers and her handsome lover apologizing to her endlessly and kissing all of her heartache away.

The young dark-skinned brunette seemed to glide up the stairs to her apartment door and felt her heart begin to race, convinced she would see the image she had concocted on her way home.

When she opened her door, she was not greeted by a garden of flowers, nor did she see Allan. Terry swiftly walked to her phone and was delighted to see that there were two messages for her. Sure, it wasn't the myriad she expected, but she was convinced that Allan was able to redeem himself in those two messages. Terry pressed the play button. The first message was from a phone company offering her a new deal on her long-distance calls. The second message was from her deadbeat cousin, Craig Williams, who ended his three month disappearing act to ask her for three-hundred dollars.

Terry could not believe that she had experienced incredible joy just two nights before. All she was left with was the numbness she needed to shield herself from the pain of abandonment. The remainder of the week passed without a call or a letter from her lover. Terry's routine at work remained unchanged save for the offer she received from the administration to conduct research at another Umbrella facility located in Sioux Falls. Without hesitation and without a good reason to remain in her current situation, Terry immediately accepted the offer and was in South Dakota by mid-October.

Five Months Later:

The crisp cold air of the February afternoon did not spoil Terry's high spirits. Fresh out of the beauty parlor, the young woman was very content with her new haircut. She was also quite pleased with her decision to continue her research at a new branch. Far from the loneliness she experienced in Salt Lake City, Terry was able to develop friendships with her coworkers at the Sioux Falls branch. However, in the midst of positive changes which had been occurring in her life, Terry still dealt with one dismal link with the past. As much as she tried, she simply could not get over Al. Sometimes, Terry caught herself avoiding social situations to brood over her lost lover. Al was especially problematic when it came to her relationship with Paul Edmonds, one of her fellow researchers. About three months after Terry began her stint at Sioux Falls, the young Duke graduate made it very clear to Terry that he wanted more than just a working relationship.

'If I would just give Paul a chance, I would eventually come to care about him and forget about Al…God, I'm letting that bastard keep my heart while Paul is giving me his.' These were some of the thoughts which constantly pestered Terry. Yet, for all of her efforts to move on with her life, she knew that she would let Al back into her life if he ever came back to her.

Terry developed somewhat of a different relationship with Christian Roberts, another of her coworkers. From the first time they met, Terry realized that his personality was such that she could talk to him about nearly anything. It was in him that she confided her situation. Terry made Christian aware of the fact that she was torn between her desire and her lack of readiness to move on with her life. Christian was surprised by Terry's frankness and offered the best advice he possibly could, suggesting that the young woman give herself some more time before she made any decisions.

The young woman looked through her personal effects one evening and was startled when she discovered one of Allan's notes to her. While they were together, he would sometimes surprise her by slipping a note into her locker, usually to ask her out on a date but also to seduce her with a compliment. Terry was certain that she had thrown out all of the notes before she packed for her move to Sioux Falls. The note reminded her of the anger and sadness which nearly consumed her. It took all of her strength to move on from the abyss in which she found herself a few months before, and she vowed that she would never go back. Terry ripped the note up and decided to take Paul up on his offer. The young brunette approached her green-eyed admirer one afternoon once the work day was completed and suggested that they go out for dinner at the end of the week. Paul delightfully accepted, and Terry was eager to start fresh with her handsome coworker. In the midst of this happiness, Terry could not have anticipated that this joy would be short-lived.


	3. A Familiar Fear

The next day, Terry entered her usual lab station only to be greeted by Christian. "Hey Chris, how are you?" asked the young woman. "Hi Terry," responded the young researcher. Then, with a look of concern, Christian asked, "Did you hear from Paul last night? We were supposed to go over some of the data from last week's experiment, but he never showed up. I called his cell phone but he didn't respond." "That's strange. I spoke to him yesterday after work but that's about it," replied Terry. "Perhaps it's nothing," remarked Chris.

But to Terry, it indicated something strange. It certainly was not like Paul to miss anything concerning his experiments. Furthermore, the fact that he failed to report to the station that morning did not work to calm her anxiety. During lunch, she decided to go to his dorm to check on him.

Terry was thankful that the morning passed rather quickly. After a quick bite to eat, she went to Paul's dorm. She saw Chris exiting the room as she approached the door. "Hey Chris," she greeted. He looked surprised as he responded, "Oh, hey Terry." "How's Paul? Is he sick?" inquired the young woman. Chris struggled to answer. How could he explain his suspicion that Paul had disappeared and that he was searching his room for clues? "Paul is, um, not here right now…he asked me to come to his room to pick up a few things he needed." Terry looked at the brown-haired man with a slightly puzzled and doubtful look. "Um, ok…" responded Terry. In order to avoid answering any of Terry's questions concerning Paul, Chris quickly said, "I'm sorry, but I have to get going," and was swiftly on his way. Terry stood before Paul's door for a brief moment watching Chris walk away. 'That was strange,' thought the young woman.

Terry returned to the lab after her lunch break only to find that Paul was still absent from his station. She approached Chris and asked him if he knew where Paul was. Chris attempted to dodge her by responding, "No, not at this moment." "But, didn't you speak to him earlier today?" asked the persistent young woman. "Uh, Terry, we can talk about this later," responded Chris. "But why?" asked Terry, somewhat agitated at this point. "What the hell's going on?" "Listen Terry," responded Chris, who noticed two other researchers seated three stations in front of them listening to their conversation. He promptly lowered his voice and leaned slightly closer to Terry as he continued. "I will explain everything to you after work. Let's meet at the café on Main Street at 5:30?" Judging from his look of grave concern, Terry knew that the situation was serious and agreed to meet Chris at the café.

A million thoughts raced through Terry's mind as she went to her dormitory to drop off her work bag and prepare for her meeting with Chris. 'Did something happen to Paul? Is he alright?…Why did Chris want to meet at the café?' Chris's behavior especially worried Terry, who subsequently found it harder to convince herself that Paul was merely sick in bed. But she had to know what happened to him.

Terry made her way to the designated café and quickly spotted Chris there. She was too anxious to bother with ordering a beverage and immediately sat down with the blue eyed man. "Ok Chris," began Terry, "what's going on with Paul?" "I'm not completely sure, but I suspect that he's in grave danger," replied Chris. "Grave danger?" asked Terry with a great deal of worry. "I'm sorry," responded the brown-haired man, "I found out that Paul has been targeted by Umbrella for experimentation. I also discovered…" "Wait," interrupted Terry, "what are you talking about? What do you mean? Umbrella doesn't experiment on people." "Indeed, they do," replied Christian, who proceeded to hand her a sheet of paper. Terry noted that the sheet paper possessed the Umbrella logo and included a list of persons which was simply labeled "Test Subjects." The list read as follows:

1. John Wright

2. Sandra Kendall

3. Paul Edmonds

4. Neil Hampton

5. Theresa Walker

The sheet also included the following notice: Obtain all test subjects sequentially and proceed with experimentation.

Terry was unsure of what this all meant. "Where did you get this?" asked the young woman. "It's from Umbrella," replied Chris. "The reason I am showing you this is to inform you about the danger you are currently in. I would strongly recommend that you come with me right now. I can get you to safety before Umbrella can get its hands on you." "Just stop," responded Terry. "Do you expect me to believe all of this?" "For your safety," replied the young man, "I would hope that you do." "Well, I don't," retorted the brunette, "and I can't believe that you would come to me with this ridiculous story and this bullshit piece of paper. Is this some kind of a sick game?" "Terry, of course not," replied Chris, "this is real. You cannot go back to the facility. They WILL experiment on you. They will kill you." Terry remained absolutely unconvinced and was somewhat leery of Chris and his seemingly insane statements. She concocted the best possible plan she could. "Well, Christian," began Terry, "I will let you take me to a safe place only if we go back to the facility and you show me proof of what you are saying." Terry figured that she could alert some of the security guards at the facility of her situation before Chris could do anything to her. "Very well," replied Chris, after some thought, "there should be enough time to obtain proof without putting you in danger. After all, you are last on the list. Let's go."

Chris and Terry returned to the facility and took the elevator down to their usual work floor. They were absolutely startled by what they saw. The facility was completely destroyed. Fluorescent lights flickered, highlighting broken chairs and overturned desks. "Oh my God, what happened?" asked Terry. "No, this can't be possible, not now…" stated Chris. "Chris, what are you talking about?" inquired a confused Terry. "Listen, I have to get you out of here now," said the blue-eyed man. "But Chris, we have to…" began the young woman, only to be interrupted by Chris as he barked, "No, there's no time! Let's just get out of here." Chris grabbed her arm and they proceeded to run up the stairs to the main exit and the young man was relieved to see that there were no obstacles impeding their exit. His relief was short-lived as an alarm sounded. "Warning! Biohazard detected. Commencing facility lockdown. Security level 3," announced the computerized voice. Concurrently, a large metal gate sealed the main exit, locking Chris and Terry inside.

"Shit," remarked Chris, who ran towards the gate and attempted to open it with no success. He then noticed a control panel next to the gate and began to fiddle with it. Terry, still wary of Chris's statements in the café, saw this as her opportunity to get away from him. The young woman quickly ran to the nearest door while Chris's back was turned. She opened it and found a person kneeling on the floor facing away from her. As she approached the person, she was met by the foul odor of rotting flesh which she failed to recognize at first. "Um, excuse me," she stated, but the individual did not turn around. She took a step closer, causing the person to turn his head. Terry was somewhat startled by the pale pigment of the person's skin and eyes. She also noticed the blood around the man's mouth and realized that he was feeding on a person who appeared to be dead. "Oh my God," remarked the terrified young woman who panicked when she realized that the creature was getting up. She stumbled and fell backward, and the monster subsequently fell on top of her, moaning. It attempted to bite at her neck as she struggled with it. "Get off of me," Terry screamed. She continued to wrestle with the creature until Chris ran into the room and pulled it off of her. Breathing heavily, she observed Chris carefully snap the creature's neck while avoiding its bite. The young man then searched the creature's body for any valuable item, finally deciding to take the nametag on the lab coat that it had been wearing. Chris then approached the young woman, who was in a state of shock. "Are you alright? Did it bite you?" asked Chris. "Um, no, I don't think so," replied Terry, still staring at the creature. "What the hell is it?" she asked as she was being helped to her feet by Chris. "Umbrella's handiwork," he responded. Terry gasped as she heard some more moaning nearby. "We're not safe here," stated Chris, "give me your hand." Terry obliged.

After sprinting past several offices and dodging a few zombies, Chris finally decided on a door which appeared to be sturdy and peeked inside to find that there was no immediate danger. Chris immediately ushered in Terry and proceeded to barricade the door. Once he was finished, Terry found that she could remain in her confusion no longer. "Alright Chris," began the young woman, finding a seat, "I want some answers." "Fair enough," replied the brown-haired man. He sat on the seat before her and commenced his explanation.

"I guess I should start with myself. My name is not Christian Roberts; it's Christopher Redfield. I'm a former member of S.T.A.R.S., Special Tactics and Rescue Squad. I was involved in the incident eighteen months ago in the mansion located just outside of what used to be Raccoon City. To make a long story short, we were lured there and betrayed by our captain, Albert Wesker, for the sake of obtaining combat data. We had no idea that we would face horrendous and deadly creatures which were created by Umbrella's T-Virus. I was fortunate to survive, but several of my teammates were killed and many were infected. Raccoon City also succumbed to the virus. My sister, Claire, was in the city looking for me and, thankfully, made it out safely before the town was nuked. She went to Europe to infiltrate an Umbrella facility and also managed to survive the T-Virus and Wesker there. From that point, I made a promise to everyone affected by Umbrella. I vowed to take down the corporation any way I could. This is why I am here. I infiltrated this facility because of suspicions that Umbrella would continue its experimentation here. Unfortunately, those suspicions proved correct." Chris then went on to explain the effects of the T-Virus on humans, and handed her the nametag he obtained from the creature they encountered in the main hall. The nametag was inscribed with the name N. Hampton.

"Oh my God," replied Terry. "I'm sorry that you had to see all of this," stated Chris. "This is what I've wanted to stop." The young woman looked up at him. "Chris, I'm sorry I didn't believe you," said Terry. "Forget about it," replied the brown-haired man, "let's just get you out of here." Terry gave Chris her hand and they left their temporary shelter.

Save for a few zombies, Chris and Terry found little difficulty in maneuvering throughout the facility. They eventually spotted a fire exit a few feet in front of them. As they were making their way to the door, four men dressed in white biohazard suits and gas masks entered the hall, blocking their access to the exit. Instinctively, Chris and Terry spun around and began to run in the opposite direction but were stopped by three more men. They were surrounded. One of the men attempted to grab Terry from behind and Chris immediately responded by punching him, knocking him down. "Terry, run," commanded Chris, as he began to combat the men in biohazard suits. "But Chris," began a frightened Terry. "Just go; don't worry about me," interrupted Chris. "Ok," Terry responded as she began to run through the opening Chris provided. Terry was able to run up the long hall and around a corner before her path was blocked by four more men in biohazard suits. Two of them immediately grabbed her. The young woman fought in vain to free herself from her captors until one of the men injected her with a tranquilizer. Terry lost consciousness as she heard one of the men announce into a walkie-talkie, "Target acquired."

Chris had better luck with his captors. Eventually succeeding in creating an opening for himself, the former S.T.A.R.S. member began to look for Terry. Chris turned the corner in the hall and observed a group of four men carrying an unconscious Terry in the other direction. Before Chris could attack them, he was surprised from behind by a team of three men who injected him with a tranquilizer before he could respond.

Chris regained consciousness and realized that he was handcuffed to a metal pole in a sterile white room. The brown-haired man was unsure if he was in the same facility as he did not recognize the room he was in. The only thing that he was sure about was the person behind his capture. Almost on cue, the door opened, revealing Albert Wesker. "Well, well, well," began the infamous traitor, dressed entirely in black and wearing his trademark sunglasses. "Surviving my attacks has become an ugly habit." "Why are you here?" asked Chris. "Did you come here to kill me?" Wesker smiled. "What an ego," remarked the blonde man. "Although destroying you has been a priority for me for quite some time, it merely serves as an added bonus. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some other business to tend to." Wesker exited the room without another word. Chris was left alone to his thoughts. 'Other business?' pondered the young man. Then he thought, 'Terry!' He quickly got to his feet. As he vainly attempted to free himself from his restraints, he heard a faint sound of similar to that of snapping fingers. 'Shit,' thought Chris, already familiar with the noise. 'Hunters.' Chris struggled harder when he realized that the wall to his left was rising to reveal the monster he suspected was nearby. 'This is it,' thought the blue-eyed man, staring at the monster, 'I'm going to die without seeing the end of Umbrella.' The hunter raced to Chris, lunging at him with its claw. Instinctively, Chris twisted to the side, causing the hunter's claw to strike Chris's arm. The hunter also severed the pole and Chris's handcuffs, freeing him. The brown-haired man quickly ran to the door only to find that it was locked. 'Great,' thought Chris, who quickly turned around to notice that the monster was advancing towards him again. Chris allowed the creature to get close enough to him so that he just barely dodged it and so that the monster's momentum would force it into the locked door. His strategy worked, and the hunter barreled into the door, knocking it completely off of its hinges with its incredible force. With the creature temporarily stunned, Chris exited the room into the hallway where the hunter was and immediately ran into the nearest office. He quickly searched the room for an item which would serve as a useful weapon but found nothing of use. Chris then began to barricade the door when he noticed that the hunter passed by the office. The former S.T.A.R.S. member breathed a small sigh of relief. Once his adrenaline began to ebb, Chris began to feel the pain of his injured arm, causing him to wince. He searched the room and found a clean cloth to bandage his wound. Chris's thoughts began to focus on Terry. 'I'll find you and get you to safety; they will not make you their next conquest,' thought the young man, who exited the room via a second door.

Chris made his way through unfamiliar territory, dodging monsters and searching for Terry, all the while fearing that he would find her infected with the T-Virus or mortally wounded. Chris continued to pass offices and lab stations until he reached a staircase leading down. Faced with no other choice, the brown-haired man made his way to the floor below. On this level, Chris encountered experimental rooms which housed large glass cylindrical tubes which presumably contained deadly B.O.W. Through one window, the former S.T.A.R.S. member spotted what looked like a Magnum. Without hesitation, Chris entered the room and retrieved the weapon without difficulty. Before he left the room, Chris noticed that a single glass container was occupied and was being maintained by a series of large computers in the adjacent room. Chris entered and stepped closer to the container. His heart sank as he realized that Terry was inside.

'No,' thought Chris, 'I promised to get you to safety and I failed.' "I'm sorry," said the young man quietly. He was startled by a loud beep from one of the computers in the room. As he walked toward the monitor, he realized that there were several dead researchers present. Judging from their appearance, Chris assessed that they had been surprised and brutally attacked by a vicious monster. 'My God,' thought Chris, who then made an effort to regain his focus and approached the monitor. It displayed the following message: X-Virus administration complete. Next to the message was the picture and identifying information of Terry. 'X-Virus?' thought Chris. 'What the? Haven't the T- and G-Viruses caused enough damage already?…Well, no matter what, I won't let them do this to you.' The former S.T.A.R.S. member proceeded to manipulate the computers and succeeded in emptying the liquid from Terry's vial and opening the container. An unconscious Terry collapsed to the floor. Chris quickly ran to her and picked her up, carrying her to the next room which was free of corpses. He placed her on a bench and covered her naked body with a clean lab coat which had been hanging in the same room.

After a few moments, Terry awakened. At first, Chris was unsure if this was the Terry that he knew but was relieved when her eyes lit up and she said his name. "Chris!" cried Terry, as she sprang up and embraced the former S.T.A.R.S. member. "I'm glad that you're alright," she continued. Chris pulled away from his comrade and could not help but smile sadly at her. "What's wrong?" inquired Terry, seeing the expression on her friend's face. "I was not sure if I should tell you this but now I think it's best that you know the current situation," responded Chris. "What is it?" asked Terry, beginning to worry. "Well," began the blue-eyed man, "there's no easy way to say this so I'll just say it." The former S.T.A.R.S. member took a deep breath and continued. "I found you suspended in that tube." Chris pointed to the window to the adjacent room. "I believe that you have been infected with the X-Virus," remarked the brown haired man. "What?" replied a hysterical Terry. "You mean I'm going to end up like those monsters?" the young woman inquired as tears began to well up in her eyes. "There's no way I'm going to let that happen," responded Chris, attempting to assure the young woman, "I'll do my best to find the cure."

Chris's feigned confidence did not impress Terry, who was beginning to slip into despair. "Don't bother; I don't want you to risk your life for something that may be pointless," stated the young brunette with a resigned tone. "Please, just make it out safely while you still can." "Don't you dare give up hope," replied Chris, angered by the young woman's despondency. "I'm going to do my part to find the antivirus, but I need you to fight as hard as you can. I'll help you beat this if you want me to."

Chris's strong words shook Terry's core. It was disheartening to know that the creatures she ran from were also humans who became infected with a virus. On the other hand, Chris was very reassuring, and he had experience with this situation. "Ok, Chris," began the young woman, "I'm ready to fight this. So, where do we start?"

He had debated whether to take her with him throughout the facility to search for a cure and risk her being attacked by monsters or to leave her in this room, possibly allowing her to be found by Wesker. After remembering the trouble he experienced with the hunter in the sterile room, he thought it was best that Terry remain behind.

"Well," began Chris, "I think it's better if you remain here." He put his hand on hers. "I'll be back as soon as possible." "Thanks Chris." responded Terry, "please, be careful." The brown-haired man smiled and exited the room, locking the door behind him.

After a few moments of attempting to fight off sleep, Terry succumbed to a brief nap. She was awakened by a noise just outside of the door. "Chris?" Terry asked. She was only greeted by the same sound, which resembled someone rasping against the door. Terry attempted to get up to look out the window into the hallway but was too dizzy to stand long. She sat down and asked again, "Chris?" with more worry. Swiftly, the rasping turned into banging. Terry knew that the door would eventually give way to her would-be intruder. She was also sure that her visitor was not human. Thus, she swiftly stood up, and attempted to ignore her dizziness but to no avail. The young woman collapsed to the floor and vainly tried to crawl to the adjacent room. 'No,' she thought, as the world continued to spin around her and she was slowly losing consciousness. She passed out as the monster barged into the room; the hunter's large claws were the last thing Terry saw before she lost consciousness.


	4. One Question

Terry's eyes opened. Everything was black at first, then slowly forms began to take shape. She soon realized that she was still alive and that she had been taken to another room. 'How on earth did I survive?' thought the perplexed young woman. She sat up and noticed that she was wearing a black jacket on top of the lab coat that Chris had given her. Terry observed her new surroundings and noticed that she was in a lounge which included a small round table and a few lockers. She also quickly realized that she wasn't alone. Terry noticed a tall blonde man peering out of the window of the door. The young woman recognized him immediately. "Allan?" she asked. He turned around and smiled. Terry was amazed at how he still made her heart flutter. "You're finally awake," noted Al, who walked over to her and asked, "are you alright?" "What the hell are you doing here?" she inquired. Al sat down next to her. "I came here for you," he stated. Al attempted to touch her shoulder but Terry moved away from him. "Well, you don't need to be here; I was just fine without you," responded the young woman. She continued to spew her bitterness. "You should just leave; you're good at that." Al took a deep breath. "Darling," he began, "leaving you was the biggest mistake of my life. In all honesty, I left because I was afraid of what I was feeling. I never expected to fall in love with you." Terry was taken aback by his revelation, and attempted to regain her composure. "Well," began the brunette, "that still doesn't excuse your leaving me." "I would like to begin to make up for it," suggested Al. "I know you've been infected with the X-Virus, and I want to help you to cope with it." "Cope with it?" inquired Terry. "What do you mean?" "Your infection does not mean that you'll become something like those monsters out there. You will be able to retain your intelligence and your memory, and you'll also gain immunity against the T-Virus that spawned those creatures," promised the blonde man. "How can you be sure of this?" asked the young woman, still unsure of her former lover. Al looked down at the floor. "Because I am also infected," he explained. Terry's eyes widened in shock. "What?" she exclaimed. "It's a virus that is the predecessor to X," explained Al. "I've been infected for a while now, since before we even met. I once thought the virus destroyed my capacity to experience emotions. You proved me wrong," continued Al, smiling slightly at Terry with this last sentence. "My God, Al," replied Terry softly, still in shock. The blonde man took her hand. "I want you to come with me now so that we can begin treatments to ensure that your intelligence and memory remain unaffected," he requested. After some thought, Terry agreed to go with her former lover. As they were preparing to leave the lounge, however, Terry remembered Chris. "Wait," said the young woman, releasing her grip on Al's hand. "What is it?" replied the blonde man, turning to her. "There's someone who's still here; he's searching the facility to find a cure for me. Al, we have to find him," pleaded the brunette. Al was undeterred. "Terry, there's no time," he explained. "I have to get you out of here now. Besides, I'm sure that he can take care of himself." Al noticed Terry's saddened expression and responded, "look, I promise that I'll look for him once I get you to safety, but we must go now." Terry agreed to the deal and began to follow Allan.

Terry and Al ran through several hallways without much difficulty. However, the two entered a narrow corridor and noticed a zombie blocking the other door. Al readied his gun and immediately fired when the unusually fast monster approached him. The zombie subsequently collapsed to the floor, neutralized. Terry, still disturbed by the concept of the T-Virus, looked down at the felled creature as she began to walk past it. She stopped and sank to her knees beside the zombie, letting go of Al's hand in the process. He turned around and noticed Terry on the floor. He kneeled down next to her. "What's wrong?" he inquired. "Paul, no…" Terry said quietly. "I'm sorry, Terry," stated Allan. The young woman then looked up at him as he took her hand. "There's nothing you can do for him, but I'm sure he would have wanted you to be safe," stated Al. She looked at her former comrade once more as Al led her to the next room.

Al and Terry entered what appeared to be another lounge. This time, only a table, four chairs and a broken vending machine were present. As Al conducted a thorough search of the room for any danger, Terry leaned against a wall and collapsed to her knees, stricken with grief and shock. Al turned around and kneeled beside her. "Terry?" he asked. "I can't…I just can't…" she replied, beginning to sob, which in turn prompted Al to touch her. Terry pushed herself away from him, experiencing a mixture of confusion concerning Al and sadness over Paul. She was ashamed that she wanted Al to touch her. Almost able to read her mind, Al moved towards the young woman and wiped a tear from her face. His touch caused a chill to ripple down her spine. Terry was unsure if she could resist him any longer. The brunette almost wished for a monster to barge into the room in order to avoid this seduction. Even after being devastated by the sight of man with whom she wanted to start over, she could not help herself from falling in love with Allan. "Al, don't leave me," she said desperately. "I never will," he replied, and soon after, they were engaged in the most passionate kiss they had ever experienced.

Instinctively, Terry began to take off Al's shirt. The blonde man stopped her. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "Let's pretend we're human, if only for a while," she responded. They kissed again as they continued to remove each other's clothing. Completely naked, the two lovers began to caress each other; Al relentlessly teased Terry's breasts, causing her nipples to become fully erect while the young brunette rubbed her lover's already hardening member with her hand. Once the two lovers were fully aroused, Al helped Terry to her feet. Swiftly, he pushed various documents and folders off of the table in the center of the room and threw Terry onto the table somewhat roughly. The young woman looked up at her lover as he leaned closer to her and put her arms above her head, trapping them with his hand. The blonde man used his other hand to guide his member toward Terry's moist entrance. He slowly pushed his entire length inside of her, causing the young woman to release a soft moan. After a few moments of moving slowly in and out of his young lover, Al began to quicken his pace. He also moved more forcefully, causing Terry's moans to evolve into screams. The intense pleasure caused her mind to go blank. All she could manage was random spurts of "Oh God," "Al," and "fuck me."

Wanting to overwhelm Terry even more, Al multiplied her pleasure by caressing her breasts once again, all the while maintaining his motion and restraining her hands. She arched her back, delirious from the ecstasy and having lost her grip on her sanity. All of her fear and melancholy dissolved in the overwhelming pleasure; all of her thoughts were drowned out by her continuous moans and screams. Al himself was succumbing to the intensity of the experience as he began to feel the pressure that signaled that he was approaching orgasm. Breathing heavily, Al closed his eyes and slightly relaxed the muscles in his back, attempting to enhance his own experience. After several more thrusts, Terry's body began to shake violently. Her orgasm was too intense for Al to handle. The blonde man squeezed his eyes shut as he was rocked by his own explosion. After a few precious seconds, Terry began to regain her control. She looked at her lover and pulled him closer to her. After being consumed by such an intense passion, the two lovers could only manage to kiss each other weakly. Terry held her lover in her arms as they recovered.

After the world had stopped spinning around them, the two lovers slowly began to get up. Al helped Terry off of the table then walked over to the pile of clothing that they had left and handed the young woman the lab coat and the jacket that she had been wearing. Once they were both fully dressed and ready to leave the room, Al turned to Terry and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "I promise I will do all I can to protect you," stated the blonde man. "I believe you," responded the young woman. "Come on, let's get out of here," suggested Al with a smile. They headed for the door but were stopped in their tracks when they heard the sound of deep growling nearby. After some moments of silence, Al turned back to Terry. "I'll go check out what that was. Here, take this and wait for me here," said Al, handing her a gun. Terry looked at Al with some worry. "Wait, don't leave me alone," she commanded. "I think it's best if you remain here. I promise, I'll be back soon," stated Al, who then smiled. "Besides, you have my gun and my jacket." Terry could not help but smile in response. Neither wanted to end the moment, but there was no other choice. Al kissed the young woman once more and repeated his promise before exiting the lounge.

Several minutes passed as Terry waited for Al to return. The silence in the room only worked to intensify her anxiety. The young woman looked down at the pistol that Al had handed to her and hoped that she didn't have to use it. She swiftly placed the gun on the table in a futile attempt to calm her worry. Soon, Terry began to pace about the room, causing her to discard the jacket that Al gave to her onto the table as it became uncomfortable to wear. Moments afterwards, she was startled as a creature burst into the room and collapsed to the floor. Terry immediately recognized the clothing. "Chris!" she exclaimed, running over to the brown-haired man. The young woman helped him to sit up when she noticed a wound on his shoulder. "My God, Chris, you're hurt," she observed. "I'll be fine," stated Chris, who then revealed a syringe as he said, "and so will you." "What?" inquired the young woman. Chris smiled as he handed the needle to her. Tears started to well up in Terry's eyes. "Is this…" began the young woman. "It's the X-antivirus, as promised," explained the brown-haired man. "Chris, how did you get this?" asked Terry. "I found one of the researchers who experimented on you and basically forced him to synthesize the cure," explained the young man. "I don't know how to thank you," stated the brunette. "Just administer the cure," replied Chris. Terry obeyed, injecting herself with the antivirus. "You should be fine," noted the young man.

"Now that your infection is being neutralized," began Chris, clearly with a new priority, "let's talk about how you wound up in this part of the facility." "Allan found me and rescued me," explained Terry. "He didn't think there was a cure, so he was taking me to another location to treat me and allow me to adapt to the virus. He'll be happy to know that you were able to find an antivirus." Chris grew somewhat concerned. "He was taking you to another facility? Did he say where it was?" he inquired. "I don't think so," replied Terry innocently. "Why, what's wrong?" "It's nothing," replied Chris, who attempted a different approach for his growing curiosity. "Where did he go?" he asked. Terry explained how Al was investigating a sound that they heard. "He should be back soon," she then stated. Chris nodded and something on the table caught his attention. "What's that?" he asked, looking in the direction of the object. "Oh, that's Al's jacket," explained Terry. Chris got up, walked over to the jacket and picked it up, observing it. He immediately dropped it and swiftly approached the young woman, who had also gotten to her feet. "Terry, we have to leave now," he said as he grabbed her hand and began to drag her toward the door. "What's going on?" inquired a confused and worried Terry as she freed herself from Chris's grip. "I will explain it once we are out of the facility, but we must go now," suggested Chris. Without waiting for Terry to respond, Chris grabbed her hand once again and continued to drag her toward the door. He opened it, revealing Terry's lover behind the door. Before Terry could run to Al and ask him to protect her from Chris, who was acting strangely, the brown-haired man asked the one question which would change her life forever: "Wesker?"


	5. Accept My Gift

Terry briefly glanced at the blonde man with a puzzled expression and turned to Chris. She noticed that the two men were glaring at each other. Innocently, she attempted to correct the brown-haired man. "No, Chris," she stated, "this is Allan." However, her explanation fell on deaf ears. "So," Chris began, his eyes still on the blonde man, "this was what you meant by your 'other business'. Tell me, were you going to sell her to the highest bidder or keep her as your personal project?" The young woman could only help but watch in horror and confusion as Al swiftly grabbed Chris by the neck, lifting him off of the ground. "You have become an irritating nuisance," began Al, almost growling his words. "I once enjoyed watching you struggle, but you no longer entertain me." Al tightened his grip on Chris's neck, but was stopped by Terry's voice. "Al, stop!" Terry finally cried. After a brief moment, Al relaxed his grip, then threw Chris against the wall. "What the hell is wrong with you?" shouted Terry, as she ran over to the brown-haired man and realized that he was unconscious. After a few moments, she turned to Al. "Who the hell are you? I just want the truth," asked the young woman softly, her anger slowly building. After a few moments of silence, Al began his explanation. "I assumed a false identity to complete my mission. I was assigned to infiltrate Umbrella and to steal the X-Virus experiment. When I found out that you were the experimental target for the virus, I decided to get close to you to achieve my goal more easily." "So, everything we experienced was a lie. I was just a guinea pig to you, wasn't I?" inquired an angered Terry as tears began to well up in her eyes. "That's not true. Falling in love with you was not part of the plan," responded Wesker. "If you cared about me," retorted the young woman, "why did you allow them to experiment on me?" "You touched a part of me that I believed was dead; I wanted to share something with you as a token of my gratitude and my affection. I wanted you to experience that feeling of immense power and invulnerability that I attained when I infected myself. Come with me; we still have time to treat you and induce your adaptation to the virus." Al attempted to grab her arm, but Terry immediately pulled it away. "No," barked Terry, "I don't want to be a monster like you. I know about what you did to your former S.T.A.R.S. teammates and I want no part of your sick game." Al grabbed the young brunette by the arms, pulled her to her feet and pressed her against a wall, trapping her. The blonde man was preparing to speak when he looked into Terry's eyes and seemed surprised by what he saw. "What happened to the infection?" he asked, somewhat angered. The young woman grew terrified and unsure of how to answer, but Wesker was able to assess the situation. "I see; Chris gave you the antivirus, and he's turned you against me." Then he let go of the young woman and moved towards Chris who was still unconscious. "I won't allow you to ruin my plans anymore." Terry, still shaken by her realization of her lover's true identity, witnessed as the blonde man slowly moved to break Chris's neck. The young brunette swiftly rushed to the table and picked up the gun that she had left there. "Let him go!" she commanded. Al turned around and noticed that his young lover was pointing the weapon directly at him as he stood up. The blonde man smirked. "We both know that you're not going to kill me," he remarked. Wesker took a step closer to the young woman. "Don't come any closer," responded Terry. Before she could realize what was occurring, Al barreled towards her with unnatural speed. She gasped as she realized that he was suddenly behind her. Al took the gun from Terry with ease. The blonde man secured the gun and then turned his young lover around, pinning her against the wall and restraining her hands above her head, his eyes once again staring into hers. Terry whimpered lightly in fear and confusion as Al brusquely kissed her lips. The blonde man continued to kiss the young brunette's cheek as she turned her head away from him. A tear slid down her cheek as Al licked her neck.

Their eyes met once again. After some silence, Al began to speak in a calm tone. "Terry," he began, "humanity is feeble. Fortunately, we can still get rid of your weakness." 'What?' thought the terrified young woman. She watched as he pulled a syringe out of his pocket. "Al, no, please don't do this!" pleaded Terry, tears again welling up in her eyes as she struggled vainly against his restraint. Wesker strengthened his hold on the young woman. "Don't fight against your evolution," he commanded. Terry shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable pinch of the needle and the pain of the cold liquid entering her blood vessels and spreading a slow death.

Instead of feeling the injection of her executioner, Terry was startled by a loud thud followed by the removal of Al's firm hold on her wrists. She opened her eyes and realized that Al was on the floor before her, knocked unconscious by the impact of the chair that a conscious Chris decided to use as a weapon. "Terry, let's get out of here," the brown-haired man quickly commanded and reached out to her after dropping the chair. After a few seconds, the young woman proceeded to give her hand to Chris when she was stopped by something she saw protruding from one of Al's pockets. "Wait," stated the young woman, finding the document disturbingly familiar. She picked up the sheet of paper which confirmed her worst fears. On it was a picture of Paul along with his identifying information; the document also detailed the method of experimentation on Paul. "No," she stated softly, her voice trailing off. She looked down at the blonde man in disbelief. "Bastard," muttered Chris, who then remembered his priority. "I'm sorry Terry," Chris stated, taking her hand, "let's just go." Chris led her out of the room; she never took her eyes off of Al.

Her journey through the monster-riddled hallways of the devastated remnants of the facility was not marked by a paralyzing fear. Rather, Terry occupied herself with attempting to avoid the realization of what had happened in the dreaded lounge just moments before. She simply could not believe that the man with whom she had shared so much was capable of harboring such evil.

The young woman was snapped back into reality by Chris's voice. "Come on, Terry," began the brown-haired man, "I think that we are almost out of here." The brunette emerged from her stupor long enough to realize that they had arrived at the parking lot behind the facility. Three flickering lights allowed Chris to spot a few monsters as well as three cars occupying the lot. Sensing no threat from the creatures, the former S.T.A.R.S member swiftly guided the young woman towards one of the cars and succeeded in opening the doors. He entered the driver's side of the car while Terry sat on the passenger's side. Chris took a few moments in attempting to hot-wire the vehicle. After watching him silently, Terry finally decided to voice her troubled emotions. "It's kind of ironic, isn't it? The girl with dreams of curing society couldn't resist the man who wanted to infect her." Chris stopped what he was doing and turned to her. He was beginning to respond when they were startled by a sudden violent shaking of the car. Both Chris and Terry looked back and observed a tall humanoid creature which the former S.T.A.R.S. member immediately recognized as a Tyrant. "What the fuck is that?" inquired a frightened Terry. "Stay in the car; I'll take care of it," responded Chris, opening his door. "Be careful," commanded the young woman as she saw the brown-haired man get out of the car. She watched as he loaded his gun; Terry then heard a loud pop and saw Chris fall backwards. "Chris!" she screamed as she opened her door and jumped out of the vehicle, forgetting about the monster behind the car. She ran around the front of the vehicle to Chris. She noticed that he had been shot.

"Hang on, Chris! I'll get you out of here," Terry urged, helping Chris to his feet and leading him away from the car. They were stopped by a familiar voice. "Get away from him," the voice commanded. Chris and Terry turned toward its direction. They noticed Wesker near the facility; he was aiming his gun at Chris. "Come with me and he will live," stated the blonde man. "Don't do it," whispered Chris, his eyes still on Wesker. Without waiting for her to respond, Al shot Chris once again, knocking him to the ground. Terry kneeled beside the former S.T.A.R.S member. "Chris!" cried the young woman. "Just run," whispered the brown-haired man, slowly losing his strength. "No," she responded. Tears began to well in her eyes, but her own moment of vulnerability flashed in her memory. She recalled how Chris helped her. The young woman looked back at her comrade. "I'll help you beat this if you want me to," she stated, smiling somewhat reassuringly at Chris. He smiled back. "I just might take you up on that offer," he responded, closing his eyes and beginning to endure his own struggle.

Terry heard Wesker's voice from behind her. "Don't you see how weak they are? Why do you choose to remain feeble?" She turned once again to her former lover, this time looking at him with disdain. She noticed that he had lowered his gun and was approaching her. "Feeble? Well, I would rather be 'feeble' than be a heartless monster like you. How do you live with yourself after everything you've done?" inquired the young woman after she stood up. "You encouraged them to experiment on Paul, didn't you?" she continued. "He was an obstacle in your evolution," Wesker stated, matter-of-factly. "God, you're sick," noted Terry as tears began to well in her eyes once again. "You're not the man I fell in love with," noted the young woman, staring through her tears at the blonde man in astonishment and disgust. "You are a bastard," she stated further.

After a few seconds of silence, Al continued to approach Terry. "Why don't you understand?" he asked softly, confused by his young lover's animosity. The two looked into each others' eyes for a brief moment when they were interrupted by a sound behind the young brunette.

As Wesker turned to shoot the advancing Tyrant, Terry swiftly reached into Chris's vest and obtained his Magnum. She pointed it at the blonde man. He turned towards her after he neutralized the Tyrant. "Terry," he spoke softly. Wesker proceeded to put his gun away. "Allan…Albert, whoever you are," began the young woman, "just leave." "I will not leave you, Terry," he responded ominously. "You're coming with me."

The young woman looked at the blonde man with a worried expression but was then momentarily distracted by the sound of a car approaching. She turned her head slightly in the direction of the sound. Al, noticing his young lover's distraction, attempted to wrestle the gun out of Terry's hand. The brunette was startled by Wesker's forceful jerking and instinctively pulled the trigger as she turned her head back toward the blonde man. Both Al and Terry stared at each other in shock; then, almost in unison, they looked down at Wesker's wound. The two looked into each others' eyes once more, this time Al displayed a noticeable amount of pain in his glance. "Terry," he stated softly, collapsing to the ground soon after. Terry could not take her eyes off of the blonde man as he lay on the ground, motionless. She was completely oblivious that the car had pulled up in the parking lot. A bearded, red-haired man stepped out of the car and noticed Terry standing in front of a body he did not recognize at first. He also noticed Chris unconscious on the ground a few feet from the young woman. He made quick work of placing the brown-haired man in the car and proceeded to walk toward Terry. "Terry Walker?" he asked. The young woman failed to respond, still disturbed by what she had done. The red-haired man walked closer and looked down at the body before her. He immediately recognized the man on the ground. "Wesker?" he asked, and immediately became aware of what had transpired. Then, remembering Chris, he turned to the young woman. "Terry," he began, taking the gun from the young woman's hand without difficulty, "my name is Barry Burton; I'm here to get you and Chris to safety. Come on; let's go." Barry secured the Magnum and gently placed his arm around the young woman's shoulder and guided her towards the car. She sat on the passenger side and looked again at Wesker on the ground as Barry entered the driver's side, turned on the car and sped off.

After driving in silence for a few moments, Barry briefly glanced over at the young woman as she stared out of the car window, dejected. "He was good at manipulating people to achieve his own goals. Wesker did it to me, and it cost me most of my teammates," the red-headed man remarked. "You…we all are better off without him."

Terry was unsure of how to respond. She was even more uncertain of how she felt about the situation. Finally, after pondering for a few moments, the young woman decided to change the topic of conversation. "Do you think Chris will be alright?" asked Terry. Barry turned to her briefly and smiled. "Chris has strength that I greatly admire and I believe in him."

The next few days saw Chris's complete recovery. After the former S.T.A.R.S. member was released from the hospital, he and Barry assisted Terry in changing her identity in order to ensure her safety. Terry Walker, the twenty-four year old researcher employed by Umbrella did not exist anymore. She was officially killed in the South Dakota incident.

One bright spring afternoon, somewhere in California, Chris approached the young brunette with a warm smile. "Allison," he began, placing his hands on her shoulders, "I wish that this wasn't goodbye, but, for your safety, we must go our separate ways." He leaned slightly closer to the young woman and continued to speak. "I'll never forget how you saved my life; I can only wish you the best of luck in your new life." The two then engaged in a tender embrace that neither wanted to break. Allison began to sob. "Chris, I'll miss you," remarked the young woman. Chris pulled away from the young woman and looked into her dark brown eyes filled with tears. The former S.T.A.R.S. member then smiled at Allison. "Don't forget that we are still a team. You find that cure for diabetes while I handle Umbrella." The young woman smiled back. "It's a deal," she replied. With that, the two parted ways.

One month later, somewhere underneath the Arizona desert:

In a facility belonging to a rival organization of the Umbrella Corporation, a young scientist dressed in a white lab coat walked quickly down a sterile hallway towards a door, reading through notes on a clipboard. Once at the door, he entered a code and stepped into a darkened room which housed a flickering computer monitor and a person seated before it. The researcher recognized the person immediately. "Mr. Wesker," announced the scientist, who wondered why Wesker spent the majority of his time at the computer. The blonde man did not respond. The researcher took a step closer and repeated himself. "Mr. Wesker?" he inquired more loudly. "What is it?" responded Wesker, somewhat annoyed and refusing to take his eyes off of the monitor. "I have gone over your results, and I must say that your recovery has been absolutely remarkable, Mr. Wesker," noted the researcher. "I just need to run a few more tests…" he continued, somewhat nervously, only to be interrupted by the blonde man. "Later," Wesker began, "first, I need to tie up a few loose ends." "Very well," replied the young scientist, who then exited the room. Al then resumed his work on the computer. The screen displayed results of the search that Wesker had tirelessly conducted for several days. After a myriad of dead ends, the blonde man finally found what he had been searching for.

'Allison Baines…at last I've found you,' thought Wesker. 'Terry, did you think it would be that simple?' Wesker swiftly turned off the computer, put on his jacket and left the room. As he walked down the hallway, his thoughts continued to center around Terry. 'I intend to keep my promise.' The blonde man stopped once he reached the facility's exit. He pulled from his pocket the last known sample of the X-Virus he procured from the Sioux Falls branch. 'You will understand and accept what I have offered to you,' thought Wesker as he stared at the vial. After a few moments, the blonde man placed the sample back in his pocket and exited the facility.

-THE END-


End file.
